Region play is picking up steam as the season reaches the midway point, and the early front-runners in several regions will be established this weekend. Among those are 4-3A (Aquinas at Westside of Augusta), 8-A Division I (Athens Academy at Commerce), 5-3A (Douglass at Cedar Grove), 4-4A (Mays at Creekside) and 5-6A (North Cobb at Walton).

Twenty-five GHSA teams are undefeated but unranked by GHSF Daily. Below is an overview of each, with their prospects going forward. Seven of the 25 complete in Class 4A, which is unusually strong this season, partly because of the addition of Marist and Blessed Trinity, down from Class 6A.

Quarterbacks Luke Priester of Chattahoochee, Kyle Davis of Lakeside (Atlanta) and Trey Smith of Roswell each accounted for more than 400 yards of offense in Week 5, and Pierce County’s Caden McGatha wasn’t far behind with 384. Elsewhere, Thomson’s Jaris Sinkfield scored just about every way imaginable in a victory over Swainsboro.

Carrollton needed an impressive victory to hold its No. 1 ranking in Class 6A this week. The Trojans got it. Their 45-15 win against Gainesville, then the second-ranked team in Class 5A, was enough to shield it from surging Buford, which dominated previous-No. 3 Douglas County of Class 6A 31-14.

Chattooga’s Zayden Cook is the state’s new rushing leader after a 338-yard effort last week in a 45-20 victory over Mount Zion of Carroll County. Cook has rushed for 849 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 60 carries. Cook is more than a running back, though. He’s an inside linebacker who is second on his team in tackles, averaging eight per game. He’s playing 125-130 plays per game.

No. 2 Buford and No. 3 Douglas County will headline Week 5 of the season when they meet in Douglasville, trying to keep pace near the top of the Class 6A rankings. Elsewhere, the top three teams in 5A - No. 1 Milton, No. 2 Gainesville and No. 3 Lee County - will face tough tests on the road.

Region play has begun in only 12 of the 56 regions, and the regular season is just one-third complete, but bracket mania has been simmering for weeks in the computer Maxwell Ratings. Below are the projected first-round matchups and seeds for all eight championship draws, along with some GHSF Daily observations.

Great rushing nights by Chattooga’s Zayden Cook and West Hall’s Elijah Hayes and outstanding all-around efforts by Jefferson’s Rett Hemphill, Toombs County’s T.J. Stanley and Warner Robins’ Skyler Williams were among the highlights of the fourth week of the season.

Buford and Douglas County didn’t move up in the football rankings this week, but each had a big win that could set up either for a promotion if successful in their next game – which is against each other. Buford, the No. 2 team in Class 6A and the preseason No. 1, defeated No. 7 Roswell of Class 5A 52-17. Douglas County, ranked No. 3, beat No. 6 Hughes of 5A 21-14.

Walnut Grove’s Emadd Howard, Houston County’s Antwann Hill and Pope’s John Stuetzer stand atop GHSF Daily’s GHSA yardage leaderboard in rushing, passing and receiving. Howard, a senior, is bidding for his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. He’s 86 yards from 3,000 in his career. He had a career-high 305 rushing yards in a 48-19 victory over Loganville last month. Walnut Grove is 3-0.